How Do You Spell G-U-T-B-O-M-B? Gus and Gabriel’s Meatball Hero

July 6, 2009

Michael Psilakis’ newest venture, a gastropub called Gus and Gabriel, opened last week in the old Kefi space on the UWS. The menu is gutbomb-centric, full of hearty stuff like burgers (including one that’s topped with gruyere, a fried egg, bacon and onion rings, and served with fries) meatloaf, fish and chips, ribs, and so on. There’s even a selection of ice cream floats that you can have spiked or unspiked–this is a place to feed the Id.

Plates land on the table with thuds, generous in portion and flavor–a teetering pile of chicken wings (not crisp enough) soaked in what tastes like a cross between barbecue sauce and buffalo sauce; fat, crunchy fish sticks, an overstuffed French dip. But the most gutbomby of all is the meatball hero ($13.95), a massive torpedo of meat and cheese served with a side of delicious tomato-sauced spaghetti. Oddly, the highly seasoned ground beef inside the hero isn’t actually formed into meatballs, but is loose like a sloppy joe, and mixed with red peppers and onions. It’s topped with a thick drape of mozzarella and basil. Go hungry.